Bulkhead door



R. B. ALVAREZ 1,841,774

BULKHEAD DooR Filed Nnv. l, 1930 3 Sheets-Sheet l A Homey Jan. 19, 1932.

R. B. ALVAREZ BULKHEAD DOOR 3 sneets-snet 2 Filed Nov. 1, 1930 I/yf 'III/lill lnvenlor Jan. 19, 1932. R. B, ALVAREZ 1,841,774

BULKHEAD DOOR Filed Nov. 1 1930 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 nvenlor By @Mw/ibm A {lorneu Patented Jan. 19, 1932 PATENT FFCE i RAMON BLANCO ALVAREZ, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

BULKHEAD DOOR Application iled November The present invention relates to new and useful improvements in bulkhead doors for ships, and more particularly it pertains to a passenger escape door for use in boats of the a submarine type.

l am aware that passenger escape doors for submarines have been heretofore invented, but such devices with which I am familiar are not thoroughlypractical for many reasons.

3U Doors of this type are generally constructed on the revolving principle and provide af compartment for the passenger, which compartment is open to the interior of the boat, the passenger taking his position thereg in, and the door being turned so that the compartment communicates with the exterior of the boat in order that the passenger may step therefrom. Y ln such devices, however, as the compart- 'i'y ment is positioned so that it communicates with the exterior of the boat, the compartment fills with Vwater and when the door is turned again to communicate the compart. ment with the interior of the boat, the water l is discharged from the compartment into the boat causing in many cases serious damages. lt is the object of the present invention to provide a passenger escape bulkhead door of the revolving type which will be free of operation to discharge passengers from a submarine without the taking in of water into the boat during the operation of the door.

It is a further object of the invenion so to construct the door that it may be operated either manually or by power.

lt is av still further object. of the invention so to construct a door that it may be operated either' from the interior of a submarine by other passengers therein, or it may be operated directly by the passenger who is being discharged from the submarine.

Other objects of the invention will appear as the nature of the invention is better under- 115.' stood, and for this purpose, reference is to be had tothe accompanying drawings wherein like parts are designated by similar reference characters throughout the drawings and the following specification.

.3o Referring tothe drawings,

1, 1930. Serial No. 492,828.

Figure l is a top plan view of a submarine boat of conventional type, illustrating the present invention and its manner of arrangement with relation to the hull of the submarine boat, setting forth the fact that devices constructed in accordance with the present invention may be positioned atvarious locations in the hull of a submarine boat,

Figure 2 is a detail sectional view taken on an enlarged scale showing the device in one of its stages of operation,

Figure 3 is a detail sectional view taken on the line 3 3 of Figure 2,

Figure 4 is a detail view partly in plan and partly in section illustrating the device 55 in one of its positions of operation,

Figure 5 is a perspective view of the device in a disassembled position,

Figure 6 is a detail sectional view taken g ,i on the line 6 6 of Figure 5, and; 'I0

Figure 7 is a vertical sectional view illustrating one manner in which the device may be operated to provide entrance to a submarine from the exterior thereof.k

Referring more particularly to the draw- 75 ings, the reference character A designates the hull of a submarine boat, and as illustrated in Figure l, a plurality of bulkhead doors constructed in accordance with the present invention may be distributed about the hull in any desired location as indicated by the reference character B.

Each of the bulkhead doors provides an exit to permit of the passage of persons or material from the interior of the submarine boat to the exterior thereof, and they are so constructed as to open outwardly through the sides of the boats hull.

Each bulkhead door consists of two mem- 9G bers C and D arcuate in cross sectional form mounted'. for movement both independently of each other, and in unison in a manner to be hereinafter described.

By reference to Figures 3 and d, it will be noted that the sides of the hull are formed with arcuate shaped bulkheads 10 the inner face of each of which is curved as indicated at 11, and the bulkhead doors C and D are mounted for movement about a centrally disposed vertical member 1.2 and have water tight contact with their respective bulkhead 10. Suitable packing such as 13 may be employed to insure a water tight joint between the bulkhead doors C and D and the bulkheads if desired. The bulkhead doors C and D are preferably ot a hollow construction, and are so shaped as to completely close the opening between the hulkheads in any position to which they may be adjusted relatively to each other and to provide when two ends of the members are in contact, a compartment or opening E large enough for the reception of at least one person, although in larger installations` this compartment may accommodate more than one person if desired.

With the parts in the position shown in Figure 3, the bulkhead doors are so arranged that the compartment E is in communication with the interior of the submarine boat in which position it receives a passenger to be discharged from the interior of the boat. With the parts in this position, it will be seen that the water from the exterior of the submarine boat is prevented from entering the interior thereof.

Means is provided to operate these bulkhead doors C and D independently of each other, and also to operate them in unison as a single unit, and said means is so constructed that it may be operated either manually from inside of the Submarine boat or mechanically from the inside of the boat, or manually from the exterior thereof.

By reference to Figure 5 it will be noted that the member C is provided with a plate like base portion 15 and projecting therefrom there is a hub member 16, while the member D s provided with an upper plate like portion 17 and project-ing therefrom there is a hub like member 18. The hub like members 16 and 18 surround the vertically disposed central member 1Q and form the means by which the members C and D are revolubly mounted upon said centrally disposed member 12. The hub like member 'l0 is formed with a gear 19, and the hub like member 18 is formed with a gear 20, Meshing with the gear 19, there is a gear 20 which in turn mounted upon a shaft 21 which carries a bevel gear 22 near its upper end, and with which meshes a bevel gea r '23 carried by a shaft 24. Mounted upon the shaft 24, there is a sprocket 25 which is keyed to said shaft, and said sprocket is driven from an electric motor 2G by means of a chain 2T. The shaft 24 is also provided with a crank Q8 by means of which it may be operated manually and said crank is connected operativelj,v with said shaft by a suitable clutch 9.9.

Meshing with the gear 20, there is a gear 30, which gear is carried upon the upper end of a shaft 31. T he shaft 31 carries a clutch member 32 which is adapted to be engaged by a clutch collar 33 slidably mounted upon a shaft 34, and operated by a manually operated lever 35. The shaft is provided upon its lower end with a gear 3b which meshes with the gear 23 heretofore mentioned, and these gears 23 and 30 form the means by which the shaft 34 rotated, and the clutch comprising the collar 33 of the member 32 forms the means by which the shaft 31 may be rotated.

Upon the extreme lower end of the shaft 21, there is a bevel gear 40, and carried by a shaft 41, there is a bevel gear 4Q. This shaft 41 is mounted in a bracket 43, and in a bearing 44 inthe hull of the boat. The shaft 41 is mounted for longitudinal movement, and is operated by a suitable rcrank handle 45 adapted to be received in a recess 46 in the side of the hull when not in use, thus it will be apparent that as the shaft 41 is moved outwardly of the boat by the crank handle 45, the bevel gear 40 will be moved into meshing engagement with the bevel gear-42 and by this means, the shaft 21 may be operated from the exterior of the boat.

Means is provided to lock the members l and C together for operation in unison, and in the present embodiment of this invention, this means comprises a sliding bolt 50 which is adapted for engagement in either of the holes 51 or 52 in the bottom plate 15 of the member C. Thus when the lower end of the bolt 50 is engaged in either of the openings 51 or 52, the two members C and D are locked together, and rotation of either member will cause simultaneous rotation of the members.

Means is also provided for operating the members C and D mechanicallv from the interior of the compartment E. and this means consists of ashaft 100 carried by each of the members C and D as illustrated in Figure 7. Each shaft 100 carries between its ends, a bevel gear 101 which meshes with a bevel gear 102 mounted on a shaft 103 secured to a disk like member 104 having a handle 105 for operating it. Upon the upper end of the shaft 100 carried by the member D, and upon the lower end of the shaft 100 carried by the member D, and upon the lower end of the shaft 100 carried by the member C, there is a gear 107. These gears 107 mesh with stationary gears 1.08 so that as the shafts 100 are rotated, the members C or D will be rotated.

By this means it is possible to enter the submarine so equipped from the outside since wit-h the parts in the position shown in Figure 4, it is only necessary to step into the compartment E and operate handle 105 to drive the shaft 100.

The device operates in the following man- V11er lith the parts in the position illustrated m Figure 3, a passenger to be discharged from the boat occupies the compartment'E. Thereposed outwardly of the sides of the vessel, and means for closing said inlet and outlet openings, said means comprisingr a plurality of member arcuate in cross sectional'form, means for locking said members together to cause them to operate in unison to open the outwardly disposed opening, means for movingl said members in unison, and means for moving said members individually in opposite directions to close the outwardly disposed opening, and to open the inwardly disposed opening.

8. A device of the character described comprising a pair of spaced bulkheads providing two openings between the ends of the bulklieads, and means mounted between the bulklieads for alternately opening and closing said openings, said means comprising two members movable in unison to open one of said openings and close the other of said openings, and movable singly in opposite directions to close one of said openings and simultaneously open the other of said openings.

In testimonyT whereof I afiix my signature.

RAMON BLANCO ALVAREZ. 

